The Bloggers of Catan

Catanism, the blog for serious Catan fans. This blog is where Klaus Teuber and the rest of the “Bloggers of Catan” write about new game developments and provide lots of in-depth information about each title.

Read the first part of the latest Catanism blog post by Klaus Teuber about beginning the development of the fourth large expansion for “The Settlers of Catan” that will see the light of day at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair in February 2013.

In the previous blog posts, the members of the editorial team shed light on certain aspects of the development of “The Rivals for Catan.” I don’t want to add any more to it at this point. On a final note, however, I would like to express my gratitude to all those who contributed to the successful development of “The Rivals for Catan” game and its two expansions, “Age of Darkness” and “Age of Enlightenment.” Nearly all of the people I want to thank are depicted on “The Rivals for Catan” cards – some with their first name, others with their middle name or a medieval version of their first name.
First of all, my thanks go to Axel Meffert, the longtime General Manager of Kosmos, who unfortunately passed away far too soon in spring of this year. …

Even though a 2-player variant of the Board Game is available now – “The Rivals for Catan” is the definitive Catan game for 2 players. The Board Game and the Card Game share a number of common characteristics; however, for many Board Game players it is still quite difficult to become familiar with the Card Game. …

The new Catanian card game “The Rivals for Catan” reaches completion with “Age of Enlightenment,” its second expansion – at least as far as the current planning status is concerned. A total of three game boxes offer the players many exciting and entertaining hours at the game table and also invite them on a trip through Catanian history.
Catanian History in the Game
The board games already provide insight into the history of the fictitious Catanian island world. …

Don’t think that games are created in the blink of an eye – or that there are rushed decisions concerning games. As early as 2007, one year after the 10th anniversary of the Catan Card Game, Klaus Teuber and Kosmos started talks about reforming the Catan Card Game. Our memories of it may easily become blurred, but fortunately the meeting minutes still exist … In 2007, it initially was “just” a matter of reforming the game, planned for 2010. …

“Age of Enlightenment” Expansion –
“The Era of Sages” Theme Set
Chapter 1
The “Era of Sages” Theme Set is set in the 16th century of the fictitious history of Catan – roughly the same time the “Era of Prosperity” set takes place.
When I developed the old Card Game more than 15 years ago, I didn’t think yet of giving Catan a history. …

In a previous blog post, I have told the story of how I became a member of the Catan GmbH staff: in 1997, almost exactly 15 years ago, I was working on a purely private spare time project named “Space Settlers,” together with Markus, my best friend at the time. …

“Age of Enlightenment” Expansion –
“The Era of Explorers” Theme Set
Chapter 1
In the fictitious history of Catan, the Era of Explorers takes place shortly before the Era of Barbarians. Approximately 30 years after Catan was discovered by seafarers from continental Europe, the Catanians took the caravels of the foreign seafarers and explored regions far away from their homeland. …

“Age of Enlightenment” Expansion –
“The Era of Prosperity” Theme Set
Chapter 1
In the fictitious history of Catan, the Era of Barbarians is followed by the Era of Prosperity. The barbarians have been defeated, and Catan has defended its independence. The returning prosperity improves the Catanians’ living conditions and allows the arts – influenced by the European Renaissance – to flourish on Catan. …

Age of Darkness -
“The Era of Barbarians” Theme Set
In the context of its fictitious history, Catan is situated in the area of today’s Azores and, in terms of size, encompasses all islands of the group. As described in Rebecca Gable’s novel “The Settlers of Catan,” in 850 B.C.E. Catan was first settled by a seafaring Nordic people.
In real history, the Azores were discovered and taken in possession by Portuguese seafarers in 1427 and 1432.
Therefore, it stands to reason that – in fictitious history – Catan is (re)discovered by Portuguese seafarers at the beginning of the 15th century, and that some decades later conquistadores from all countries of the Old World set out for Catan like barbarian conquerors, to steal from the island what they regard as its only valuable good: …